Is there really a difference in Gas?

[Manny1337]

Now ive heard many people talk about different types of gas. They say mobile is the best for your car and all this and that, but what i want to really know is there any real difference between gas? i ran mobile super 2 tank fulls and i got the same mpg as i did with regular. im just curious if its actually worth the extra cash because i dont see a difference

[Camry LE 94]

i heard gas with zero ethanol gives you more MPG and power. i try not to use anything but Mobil, Sunoco and Shell gasoline.

[DxElite]

There is no "real" difference in gas made by different companies.
I watched that Charles Gibson special on oil. He reported that because of government regulations, refiners can't add or modify the gas too much and have to stay within a standard.
Basically all gas are the same, regardless of the claims of additives that help clean and what not.

There was even a segment on the distribution of gas that showed some gas stations buy gas from other "brand" makers and a distributor owner himself said it was all the same because of government regulations.

The only real difference in gas from the pump is the octane ratings.

[Manny1337]

so what youre saying over all is that mobile gas is a ripoff? always being more expensive

[DxElite]

Pretty much.
That's what they reported in that special. But you know how things can be biased.
It makes sense though since it is government regulated, but I never checked their sources myself to really find out if it was completely true.

[Manny1337]

=P. well thanks for the info man saved me some money haha

[jimmyb.1]

I think all stations are unregulated as to how much they dilute their pure gas w/ ethanol but still have to have the octane rating of whatever. The cheapest gas is usually 10% ethanal, although some have gone to 15% but that really drops performance. Shells top octane is their only pure gas. All the other ratings inbetween are various mixtures of so many parts ethanal to so many parts pure gas.

That all being said, I'd like to only buy the purest fuel but at 25 cents/gal more it's just too much, especially for city driving - maybe on a trip I'd do it. I've been buying the 89 or 15 cents higher (4% ethanol +/-). I just did 250 miles interstate yesterday on this fuel and got 33.6 mpg where normally I'd get 27 from the lowest most diluted stuff. I have a 93 2.2L auto camry.

Ethanol is terrible hard on your cars cats, well, basically everything. Not sure if I even answered the op's question.

[Tom 2000]

http://www.toptiergas.com/

[Lightning Blue]

Try and stay away from anything with ethanol in it, the difference can be impressive.

[Gibson99]

dxelite looks like the only person in the south (and of all places, in the same metro area as me). i don't know of any place that sells pure gas anymore. everywhere is at least 10% ethanol. doesn't matter if it's exxon/mobil, shell, sam's club, grocery store, or joe's corner store.

that said i have no problem using gas from the grocery store or sam's club. and i run 93 in my 7.5psi sc'd camry. i see no reason to pay 20-50 cents more a gallon for the same stuff.

i can confirm the fact that many trucks fill up at the same place, with the same stuff. my brother used to be a truck driver, and every day he saw the exxon, texaco, shell and mobil trucks lined up right alongside the generic trucks, all filling from the same refinery. i've also personally seen a "Sun Coast Resources" truck fill a Kroger (grocery store) gas station, then go across the street to fill a Shell station.

I personally have 2 practices which I think help avoid problems:
1) never get gas while the truck is there filling the station. That way you don't get the crud (dirt, water, etc) that gets stirred up at the bottom of the station's underground tanks. yes, all tanks have some water in them, and you obviously don't want this in YOUR tank!
2) avoid no-name, low volume stations. low volume stations have much higher risk of having old gas, or more water in their tanks.
i buy gas based on price, so one day it may be shell, next time it'll be sam's club, next time valero, whatever. and i make sure i get into boost at least once on every tank, even if it's a 100% interstate trip. so i'd know pretty quick if i'd gotten some bad gas...

[CROYCE992]

my dad is a chemical engineer so he comes in contact with several engineering facilities in the midwest. once out on a business trip in ohio to oversee the work of one his companies suppliers he was given a tour of their plant. one division of their plant was devoted to testing various different kinds of motor oils as well as gasolines.

to test the difference, they bought several brand new engines that you would typically find in semi trucks took every piece apart and measure the depth, width, thickness of all the individual components that faces ware. then they would assemble it back together and run the engines under various simulated driving conditions that they typically face for thousands of miles. my dad didn't tell me what the motor oil results were but he did say that their tests concluded that shell gasoline was best for the engines' longevity.

me personally, i recently switched over to shells premium grade for the last 4-5 times i have filled up and have noticed a smoother idle and better throttle response. might be that nitrogen stuff at work i guess.


on a side note: there are discount gasoline brands like citgo and marathon, then there are the premium brands like shell, sunoco (apparently really good but none around me ) and BP. ofcourse these are gonna cost more. also, my dad's friend who has a 93 1MZ-FE and is well on his way to 500,000 miles to which he owes it to toyota dependability, full synthetic oil, and premium gasoline.

^the dealership that sold him the car said that if his car makes it 500k, they will give him a new one for free

[dcninja757]

all we have around here in va beach is ethanol gas sadly.

[Manny1337]

yeah ive looked around here i have never found a gas station with anything less than 10%, but thank you everyone for your responses =P i guess ill try shell next fill up see how she runs.

[Stillrunning]

I've found BP/Amoco stations advertise "NO Ethanol in our gas". You'll loose at least 10% in gas mileage using gas with ethanol so the price for ethanol gas is not really a bargain.

[arlo]

I work for an oil refinery (as a chemical engineer) and can confirm that gasoline is almost the exact same. It is ignorant to avoid certain brands since they all actually are buying gasoline from each other every day. When a truck fills up at a terminal, the company's additive is added to the same gasoline that other trucks are filling up with. This additive is the only difference between the brands.

As far as "not filling up when the truck is there," this practice is ignorant. Gasoline pumps have filters that will prevent sediment from being put into your car. I never seen data on water concentrations in gasoline tanks, but I am sure this is not an issue.

Also, notice that with ethanol mixtures, the pump will read "May contain up to 10% Ethanol" This does not mean it contains exactly 10, it could contain 0, 7, etc., depending on local environmental regulations.

As long as your car isn't knocking, buy the lowest octane rating fuel that your car recommends.